Research Scientist at Kernel
With a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Dartmouth, Katherine's expertise is incredibly impressive. Throughout her professional career Katherine has built up extensive experience in research and neuroscience study. Now at Kernel as a research scientist, Katherine has worked on neuroimaging system characterization, optimization, configuration, and much more!

Mike is an experimental psychologist at Valve, focusing on BCIs and has worked on many of their games such as TF2 and Portal 2.

President of Kinkaide Enterprises Inc
With expertise in change management and a background in the biochemistry of memory and neurophysiology of attention, Perry has dedicated his career to promoting innovative, emerging, and advanced technologies that are fundamental to the development of Alberta's economy. Over the years, Perry has co-founded several technology alliances that advance cell therapy, cleantech, and fusion technology. He has also developed an index for monitoring Alberta's economic resilience, which has been instrumental in identifying areas of opportunity for economic growth. Perry's public webcasting network, which features Alberta innovations, has helped to showcase the latest developments in emerging technologies to a broader audience. At the onset of COVID, Perry founded Kinkaide Enterprises Inc. - an international network of over 25,000 participants. Through KEI, Perry continues to provide mentorship and financing for early-stage companies with industry disruptive technologies. Moreover, he serves as a change agent to educate and establish networks capitalizing on the impact of emerging technologies.

CEO and Founder Lenica Research Group
Simba Nyazika, a Psychology and Neuroscience graduate from the University of Alberta. Simba firmly believes in the importance of good mental health as a fundamental human right. With over seven years of clinical experience as a Behaviour Consultant, he has supported individuals of all ages struggling with diverse mental health challenges. Simba's passion for mental health has led to the creation of groundbreaking initiatives, including the world's first mobile virtual reality-based brain training program, Cognilit, and the successful development of RehabVR - a cognitive rehabilitation program to support stroke recovery, in partnership with the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital. As a co-founder of Lenica Research Group, Simba and his team are dedicated to creating a neurocognitive platform that has the potential to revolutionize mental health on a global scale.

Co-Founder of 8 Bit Cortex
Dr. Ty McKinney, a Psychology graduate from the University of Alberta. Dr. McKinney completed his Ph.D. at the University of Utah on brainwave technology in mental health assessment. He co-founded 8-Bit Cortex to adapt his research into gamifying corporate burnout risk assessments and improving workplace wellness for everyone. As the Research Director for Branch Out, Dr. McKinney promotes the impact of innovative brain health research and shares this insight with the community. When not thinking about the brain, Ty can be found exploring nature or connecting with Alberta's growing technology ecosystem.

Are you a neurotech enthusiast interested in building your network and expanding your professional reach? NeurAlbertaTech invites you to join us for our speaker event, NAT Chat - Social Neuroscience - on Thursday, March 30th! Connect with leading industry professionals and academics, enjoy free food and beverages, and win prizes!

Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of Alberta
Dr. Kyle Nash is an Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department at the University of Alberta, and a former postdoctoral fellow at the University of Bern and the University of Basel in Switzerland. Dr. Nash received his PhD in Social Psychology, his Neuroscience graduate diploma from York University, and his BA (Hons) in Psychology from the University of Manitoba. Dr. Nash's research is grounded in the neuropsychology of motivation and conflict - investigating the basic neural, motivational, and affective mechanisms of personality and self-regulatory processes. He examines the nature of threat and defensive reactions to threat, individual differences in the affective experience of conflict and distress, and self-control in decision-making. Dr. Nash will provide an overview of neuroeconomics, investigating the brain mechanisms involved in social choices and economic decision-making.

Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of Alberta
Dr. Dana Hayward is an Assistant Professor of cognitive psychology at the University of Alberta, and a former postdoctoral fellow at Concordia University in Montréal, Québec. Dr. Hayward completed her PhD and MSc in Psychology at McGill University, BEd at York University, and her BSc in Human Behavioural Biology at the University of Toronto. She directs the Visual Attention and Social Processes lab. She employs eye-tracking, motion-tracking, and EEG technology to delineate the environmental influences (such as spatial layouts or the effect of other people) on attention, and also investigates individual variability. Dr. Hayward has won the best article of the year for the Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology, and was an Early Career recipient from the APA. She received tri-council funding at the PhD, Post-doc and Assistant Professor stages of her career. Dr. Hayward will present an overview of past and current eye-tracking and motion-tracking lab studies.

CIFAR Artificial Intelligence Chair; Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta; Vice Board Chair AMII
Dr. Patrick M. Pilarski is an Associate Professor in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Alberta and a Senior Staff Research Scientist and team lead at DeepMind's Alberta office. He is interested in reinforcement learning, decision making, and human-machine interaction, and leads the Amii Adaptive Prosthetics Program. He has also developed techniques for cancer and pathogen screening. Dr. Pilarski has authored over 100 peer-reviewed articles and received numerous research grants and awards.

Machine Learning and Client Analyst
Omid Hajihassani is a graduate of the MSc in Software Engineering from the University of Alberta. As the Machine Learning and Client Analyst at ISAIC, Omid is passionate about HPC programming and how to apply ML to business problems.

PhD Candidate in Statistical Machine Learning
Gautham Vasan is a PhD student in Statistical Machine Learning at the University of Alberta, focusing on the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. His research involves developing Reinforcement Learning algorithms and continual learning systems for real-world robots. Previously, he worked as a Machine Learning Researcher at Kindred Systems Inc, applying AI techniques for e-commerce fulfillment centers.

CIFAR Artificial Intelligence Chair; Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta; Vice Board Chair AMII
Dr. Patrick M. Pilarski is a Canada CIFAR Artificial Intelligence Chair, past Canada Research Chair in Machine Intelligence for Rehabilitation, and an Associate Professor in the Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta. In 2017, Dr. Pilarski co-founded DeepMind's Alberta office, where he continues as a team lead and Senior Staff Research Scientist. He is a Fellow and Vice Board Chair of the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii), co-leads the Bionic Limbs for Improved Natural Control (BLINC) Laboratory, and is a principal investigator with the Reinforcement Learning and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (RLAI) at the University of Alberta. Dr. Pilarski received the B.ASc. in Electrical Engineering from the University of British Columbia in 2004, the Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Alberta in 2009, and completed his postdoctoral training in computing science with Dr. Richard S. Sutton at the University of Alberta. Dr. Pilarski's research interests include reinforcement learning and decision making, artificial intelligence, real-time machine learning, human-machine interaction, intelligence amplification, rehabilitation technology, and assistive robotics. He leads the Amii Adaptive Prosthetics Program—an interdisciplinary initiative focused on creating intelligent artificial limbs to restore and extend abilities for people with amputations. As part of this research, Dr. Pilarski has developed and made prominent machine learning techniques for continual sensorimotor control and prediction learning on prosthetic devices. These include some of the first published approaches to ongoing user training of upper-limb prosthesis control systems via reinforcement learning, and he pioneered the use of general value functions in prediction learning to continually adapt myoelectric control interfaces in real time. Dr. Pilarski's research programme continues to explore human-device interaction and communication, long-term co-adaptation and joint action between agents, patient-specific device optimization, and constructivism in tightly coupled human-machine interfaces. He has also created techniques for rapid cancer and pathogen screening through work on biomedical pattern recognition, robotic micro-manipulation of medical samples, and hand-held diagnostic devices. Dr. Pilarski is the award-winning author or co-author of more than 100 peer-reviewed articles, a Senior Member of the IEEE, and has been supported by competitive provincial, national, and international research grants.

Machine Learning and Client Analyst
Omid Hajihassani is a graduate of the MSc in Software Engineering from the University of Alberta. As the Machine Learning and Client Analyst at ISAIC, Omid is passionate about HPC programming and how to apply ML to business problems.

PhD Candidate in Statistical Machine Learning
Gautham Vasan is a PhD student in Statistical Machine Learning at the University of Alberta, advised by Dr. Rupam Mahmood. Gautham is interested in building machines with human-like intelligence. His research lies in the overlapping areas of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. He actively works on designing and developing Reinforcement Learning (RL) algorithms and continual learning systems for real-world robots. Previously, he was a Machine Learning Researcher at Kindred Systems Inc, leveraging AI techniques to identify apparel items to pick, place and sort into complete end-customer orders at e-commerce fulfilment centres like Gap Inc, etc.

Neurosurgeon at Alberta Health Services
Dr. Tejas Sankar is a neurosurgeon, clinician-scientist, and Associate Professor at the University of Alberta. He holds a medical degree from McGill University, completed his neurosurgical residency training at the University of Alberta, and completed his PhD at the University of Toronto. His principal clinical interest is the neurosurgical management of patients with Parkinson’s Disease, other movement disorders, and psychiatric disorders using Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), and he is the surgical lead for the DBS program. He also has strong clinical interests in the treatment of patients suffering from chronic pain and brain tumors.

Dr. Sankar currently also serves as Research Director in the Division of Neurosurgery and is the Principal Investigator for the Functional Neurosurgery Research Laboratory at the University of Alberta. The lab focuses on the use of multimodal neuroimaging and neurophysiological techniques in order to study the impact of brain stimulation on plasticity in the nervous system, and to develop biomarkers of treatment response across a wide range of neurosurgical illnesses, with specific emphasis on Parkinson's Disease and chronic pain. Dr. Sankar has published over 65 peer-reviewed scientific articles, written multiple invited commentaries and book chapters, and has given over 70 invited presentations. In addition, he has received several research awards, including the 2009 Journal of Neuro-Oncology award from the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. Dr. Sankar is currently an Associate Editor of the Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences (CJNS), and serves as Vice President of the Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation (CNSF).

Director of Manufacturing at Kheprion Inc.
I am a Fifth-year Materials Engineering Student here at the University of Alberta. I currently work in the field of drug and medical device development - specializing in manufacturing nanomaterials for wound care, and targeted therapeutics with an emphasis on women's health.

I have started and worked with numerous University Spin-off corporations from the innovations we created here at the University of Alberta and with our partners across North America.

Neurosurgeon at Alberta Health Services
Dr. Tejas Sankar is a neurosurgeon, clinician-scientist, and Associate Professor at the University of Alberta. He holds a medical degree from McGill University, completed his neurosurgical residency training at the University of Alberta, and completed his PhD at the University of Toronto. His principal clinical interest is the neurosurgical management of patients with Parkinson’s Disease, other movement disorders, and psychiatric disorders using Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), and he is the surgical lead for the DBS program. He also has strong clinical interests in the treatment of patients suffering from chronic pain and brain tumors.

Dr. Sankar currently also serves as Research Director in the Division of Neurosurgery and is the Principal Investigator for the Functional Neurosurgery Research Laboratory at the University of Alberta. The lab focuses on the use of multimodal neuroimaging and neurophysiological techniques in order to study the impact of brain stimulation on plasticity in the nervous system, and to develop biomarkers of treatment response across a wide range of neurosurgical illnesses, with specific emphasis on Parkinson's Disease and chronic pain. Dr. Sankar has published over 65 peer-reviewed scientific articles, written multiple invited commentaries and book chapters, and has given over 70 invited presentations. In addition, he has received several research awards, including the 2009 Journal of Neuro-Oncology award from the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. Dr. Sankar is currently an Associate Editor of the Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences (CJNS), and serves as Vice President of the Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation (CNSF).

Director of Manufacturing at Kheprion Inc.
I am a Fifth-year Materials Engineering Student here at the University of Alberta. I currently work in the field of drug and medical device development - specializing in manufacturing nanomaterials for wound care, and targeted therapeutics with an emphasis on women's health.

I have started and worked with numerous University Spin-off corporations from the innovations we created here at the University of Alberta and with our partners across North America.

Mechanical and Biomedical Engineer at University of Alberta
Milad began his educational journey at Iran University of Science and Technology where he spent six years studying Mechanical Engineering, and another two years as a Researcher. More recently Milad completed his PhD in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Alberta in 2020, where he has served as a Research and Teaching Assistant since 2016. Currently Dr. Nazarahari is working in a lab which researches the potential of neuroprostheses for controlling balance in those with physical disabilities.

Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Alberta
My primary research interests lie in developing machine / deep / reinforcement learning for solving real-world big and complex problems. Specifically, I am now working on the intersection of machine learning and computational neuroscience, where I am creating different techniques for decoding patterns of the human brain by exploiting distinctive biomarkers, i.e., fMRI, EEG, MEG, Health Records, etc.

Mechanical and Biomedical Engineer at University of Alberta
Milad began his educational journey at Iran University of Science and Technology where he spent six years studying Mechanical Engineering, and another two years as a Researcher. More recently Milad completed his PhD in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Alberta in 2020, where he has served as a Research and Teaching Assistant since 2016. Currently Dr. Nazarahari is working in a lab which researches the potential of neuroprostheses for controlling balance in those with physical disabilities.

Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Alberta
My primary research interests lie in developing machine / deep / reinforcement learning for solving real-world big and complex problems. Specifically, I am now working on the intersection of machine learning and computational neuroscience, where I am creating different techniques for decoding patterns of the human brain by exploiting distinctive biomarkers, i.e., fMRI, EEG, MEG, Health Records, etc.

Research Scientist at Kernel
With a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Dartmouth, Katherine's expertise is incredibly impressive. Throughout her professional career Katherine has built up extensive experience in research and neuroscience study. Now at Kernel as a research scientist, Katherine has worked on neuroimaging system characterization, optimization, configuration, and much more!

Mike is an experimental psychologist at Valve, focusing on BCIs and has worked on many of their games such as TF2 and Portal 2.

Research Scientist at Kernel
I specialize in making human brain imaging methods more robust and useful. My training is in Biomedical Engineering and Cognitive Neuroscience. I use signal processing methods and experimental expertise to get the most information from the smallest amount of brain data.

Principal Experimental Psychologist at Valve
I'm an experimental psychologist at Valve who works on applying knowledge and methodologies from psychology to game design. I do a fair bit of statistical analysis on gameplay and Steam data, and these days I'm spending time on Brain-Computer Interface research. I've been at Valve since 2008 and have worked on basically every game/product we've released since then.

Research Scientist at Kernel
With a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Dartmouth, Katherine's expertise is incredibly impressive. Throughout her professional career Katherine has built up extensive experience in research and neuroscience study. Now at Kernel as a research scientist, Katherine has worked on neuroimaging system characterization, optimization, configuration, and much more!

Throughout her career, Vivian has contributed an incredible amount to the medical neurotech industry, including Founding or Co-Founding several innovative companies. Vivian now sits as the Canadian Research Chair in Functional Restoration at the University of Alberta as well as serving as a Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Co-Founder | Upside Down Labs
With an eye for detail and passion for design Bhawna has built up an extensive graphic design background. More recently, she Co-Founded Upside Down Labs, a technology development firm that is currently working on open-source projects in the bioelectronics and neuroscience spaces.

Research Scientist at Kernel
I specialize in making human brain imaging methods more robust and useful. My training is in Biomedical Engineering and Cognitive Neuroscience. I use signal processing methods and experimental expertise to get the most information from the smallest amount of brain data.

PhD Candidate, Neuroscience - NATuc President
I am an aspiring Neurotechnology Professional with a passion for health, life sciences research and technology, and travel. I bring a proven record of achievement in medical science education, community involvement, business development, and leadership. I have travelled to over 35 countries on six different continents and can speak three languages. With a global mindset and graduate education in the fields of neuroscience and biomedical technology, I will strive to achieve my goals of improving the world's quality of life and improving human health.

Fellow at American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering
I focus on developing intelligent medical devices and innovative rehabilitation interventions to improve function, health outcomes and quality of life of persons with neural injuries or diseases

Co-Founder | Upside Down Labs
Bhawna Sehgal is a goal-oriented Visual Designer with an eye for detail and a passion for designing. She believes in creating eye-appealing visual concepts and communicating ideas that inspire, inform and captivate people. Her love for designing and creative thinking pushes her to always keep creating something new that can excite the viewers.

Mike is an experimental psychologist at Valve, focusing on BCIs and has worked on many of their games such as TF2 and Portal 2.

Ty is a co-founder of the mental health tech company 8-Bit Cortex where he focuses on gamifying mental health assessment.

Principal Experimental Psychologist at Valve
I'm an experimental psychologist at Valve who works on applying knowledge and methodologies from psychology to game design. I do a fair bit of statistical analysis on gameplay and Steam data, and these days I'm spending time on Brain-Computer Interface research. I've been at Valve since 2008 and have worked on basically every game/product we've released since then.

Postdoctoral Researcher at University of Calgary
Experienced postdoctoral researcher focused on driving forward design, development and realization of pediatric brain-computer interfaces (BCI). Skills include biomedical signal processing, multi-way analysis, machine learning, EEG acquisition and analysis, BCI gamification and design.

Co-Founder at 8 Bit Cortex
Ty is currently completing his PhD at the University of Utah with a research focus on brain health assessment. Ty is thrilled to be co-founder of 8 Bit Cortex, a mental health tech start up, and adapt his research expertise to creating accessible and affordable mental health services. Ty is also the Research Director for Branch Out Neurological Foundation, a non-profit that accelerates non-pharmaceutical and tech-based solutions to neurological and mental health disorders. Finally, Ty is also a consultant with ConsciousWorks to promote brain health in the workplace. Through these positions, Ty has cultivated project management, research, science communication, programming skills (In order of skill: R, Matlab, HTML, CSS, Javascript, Python), and entrepreneurial thinking with an eye for the clinical impact.

With over 100 publications, decades of cutting-edge research at esteemed institutions, and a multitude of coveted awards, Dr. Lebedev has investigated all levels of brain function from cellular to cortical, with a focus on somatosensory and motor cortices. He has developed bi-directional BCIs that simultaneously read brain activity and deliver sensory information. Mikhail is currently Scientific Head of the Center for Bioelectrical Interfaces, part of the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at HSE in Moscow.

Andreas is Founder and CEO of Cognixion where he is providing the hundreds of millions of people with communication disabilities a way to express their voice. Cognixion creates natural interfaces powered by AI to facilitate and improve communication. In addition to Speakprose, a mobile app that uses gestures and eye-tracking to build sentences, the team is developing an entirely wireless BCI with integrated AR.

Cayden helps people upgrade their thinking by creating wearable BCIs and is currently the BCI Lead at Blueberry. Blueberry is building BCI glasses that allow continuous brain state monitoring to help users make better work, break, and rest decisions, overall increasing productivity and satisfaction.

Originally an engineer, Jacob transitioned towards productivity and science; author of the book Study Smart, founder of a SaaS tutoring company, and now Founder and CEO of Eno. Eno is improving focused productivity with elegant and innovative BCIs for everyday use.

Coming from a Political Science degree at Columbia University, Joseph has honed his marketing and communication skills at companies across the globe including Salesforce, AppNexus, and WPP. Joseph previously managed digital marketing for OpenBCI and now directs OpenBCI's commercialization and communication strategies.

Scientific Head at National Research University — Higher School of Economics
Mikhail works in the fields of Neurophysiology and Brain-Computer Interfaces. He has more than 100 publications. He has a MS degree in Physics from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (1986) and a PhD degree in Neurobiology from the University of Tennessee, Memphis. In 1986-1991, Lebedev conducted research on motor control in Victor Gurfinkel's laboratory at the Institute for Problems of Information Transmission. In 1991-1995, during his stay in Memphis, he investigated single-unit activity in the somatosensory cortex and basal ganglia of awake, behaving primates. In 1995-1995, Lebedev conducted research at SISSA, Trieste, Italy, where he examined plasticity in rat somatosensory cortex. In 1997-2002, Lebedev worked at NIMH, Bethesda, Maryland.

Founder and CEO of Cognixion
Cognixion has been internationally recognized for its innovation and use of exponential technologies to solve a social and healthcare global challenge - affecting the lives of 509 million people* affected by speech disabilities. Cognixion has won the prestigious Roddenberry Prize, the Gold Edison Award for Social Impact, the Global Elevate Award and the Singularity University Global Grand Challenge for Education for its potential to impact over a billion lives.

BCI Lead at Blueberry
Cayden Pierce develops wearable computers and BCI to help people upgrade their thinking. He's the BCI Lead at Blueberry, building BCI glasses to help users upgrade their output by making better work, break, and rest decisions throughout the day.

Founder and CEO of Eno
Visit my LinkedIn for more information!

Director Of Marketing & Business Development at OpenBCI
Drawing on experience in sales, marketing, and consulting, Joseph is responsible for guiding OpenBCI's commercialization and communication strategies. Prior to joining OpenBCI full-time, Joseph managed OpenBCI's digital marketing as a consultant while working in the US and EMEA at market-leading companies such as Salesforce, AppNexus, and WPP. After returning from living in London, Joseph also briefly coordinated a series of innovative art and music events in NYC. He has a B.A. in Political Science from Columbia University.